Ink cartridge, recording apparatus employing ink cartridge, and manufacturing method for ink cartridge

ABSTRACT

An ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to a liquid ejection type recording device including a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning the recording material in a direction crossing with a feeding direction of the recording material, and a recoverying unit for sucking the liquid through a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head, the ink cartridge includes a receiving portion for receiving the liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head by the recoverying unit; a liquid containing portion for accommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head; and a connecting portion for connecting the receiving portion and the suction recoverying means, wherein the connecting portion is disposed at a position upstream of a front end surface portion of the ink cartridge with respect to an inserting direction in which the ink cartridge is inserted into the liquid ejection type recording device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge, as a replaceableliquid container for storing ink or the like liquid, employed in an inkjet recording system. It also relates to a recording apparatus whichemploys said cartridge, and a manufacturing method for said cartridge.In particular, it relates to an ink cartridge tailor-made for a portableprinter which is small and easy to carry, a recording apparatus whichemploys said cartridge, and a manufacturing method therefor.

BACKGROUND ART

It has been known that in order to prevent the recording head of an inkjet recording apparatus from becoming plugged, or to prevent the similarproblems, an ink jet recording apparatus is equipped with a unit forsuctioning ink from the recording head to restore the recording head inperformance. As an ink cartridge which comprises a waste ink containingportion for storing the waste ink, that is, the ink suctioned away fromthe suction type performance recovery unit, and is replaceably mountablein an ink jet recording apparatus, there have been known a few inkcartridges structured like the one disclosed in Japanese Laid-openPatent Applications 6-340092 and 5-4349. In the case of these inkcartridges, the waste ink inlet of the waste ink containing portion isgenerally provided as a part of the front wall of the waste inkcontaining portion, in terms of the direction in which an ink cartridgeis inserted into a recording apparatus. Thus, an ink jet recordingapparatus which employs such an ink cartridge needs to be provided withan ink discharge tube through which waste ink can be drawn out of themain assembly of the recording apparatus, and the waste ink dischargetube needs to be located in the front portion of the recordingapparatus, in terms of the ink cartridge insertion direction.

However, the above described structural arrangement is problematic forthe following reason. That is, in order to make a portable printerthinner, an ink container therefor must also be made to be thinner.Thus, if the waste ink container of an ink container is structured asdescribed above, the objective of increasing an ink container incapacity to reduce it in replacement frequency contradicts the objectiveof reducing a portable printer in size and thickness; in other words, itis very difficult to accomplish both objectives (first technicalproblem).

Further, if the waste ink holding portion itself is made as small aspossible in size, it becomes difficult for the waste ink to dispersesatisfactorily and quickly in the waste ink holding portion after beingabsorbed into the waste ink holding portion. This creates the conditionthat the waste ink is nonuniformly distributed in the waste ink holdingportion, that is, certain areas of the waste ink holding portion becomeexcessively saturated with the waste ink. When the waste ink holdingportion is in this condition, it is possible for the waste ink thereinto leak into, and/or out of, the apparatus, due to the vibrations towhich the apparatus is subjected while the apparatus is carried, impactsto which the apparatus is subjected as the apparatus is dropped, and/orchanges in temperature (second technical problem).

There is another problem. That is, as ink jet recording has come closein quality to silver-salt photography, ink jet recording apparatusesenabled by software technologies to record an image in a manner ofcovering the entire surface of a recording medium, that is, ink jetrecording apparatuses capable of producing prints with no border, ormargin (which hereinafter may be referred to as borderless prints), havecome to be marketed. In these ink jet recording apparatuses, a single orplurality of ink absorbing members for absorbing ink are placed on aplaten, across the areas where the ink droplets ejected toward slightlyoutside the edges of the printing paper land when the ink jet recordingapparatus is in the borderless mode, so that the ink droplets ejectedtoward slightly outside the recording paper range are caught, absorbed,and retained by the ink absorbing members to make it possible for animage to be formed on the following recording paper without soiling therecording paper.

In the case of the above arrangement, however, the ink absorbing membersare held by the platen. Therefore, in order to increase the inkabsorbing members in capacity, the printer itself has to be increased insize, which is a problem. This problem is more serious in the case of aportable printer, for the following reason. That is, since a portableprinter is frequently carried, it must be greater than a stationaryprinter, in the margin of reliability in terms of leakage. Further, thecapacity of the waste ink absorbing members must be set according to notonly the entire amount of ink which will be used during the duration ofthe service life of the main assembly of an ink jet printer, but also,the frequency of usage by a heavy user. Thus, unless an innovativeapproach is made, it is difficult to substantially reduce the size of anink jet printer (third technical problem).

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to solve one or more ofthe above described first, second, and third technical problems toprovide an ink cartridge capable of contributing to the size reductionof an ink jet recording apparatus capable of borderless printing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jetrecording apparatus using such an ink cartridge, and a manufacturingmethod for such an ink cartridge, and others relating thereto.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided anink cartridge which is detachably mountable to a liquid ejection typerecording device including a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquidonto a recording material while scanning the recording material in adirection crossing with a feeding direction of the recording material,and a recoverying unit for sucking the liquid through a nozzle of theliquid ejecting head, said ink cartridge comprising a receiving portionfor receiving the liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head by therecoverying unit; a liquid containing portion for accommodating theliquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head; and a connectingportion for connecting said receiving portion and said suctionrecoverying means, wherein the connecting portion is disposed at aposition upstream of a front end surface portion of said ink cartridgewith respect to an inserting direction in which said ink cartridge isinserted into the liquid ejection type recording device.

With the employment of the above described structural arrangement for anink cartridge, the joint between the performance recovery unit and inkcartridge falls within the scanning range of the recording head, makingit possible to place the main section (connective portion by which unitis connected to pump and cartridge) of the performance recovery unitwithin the range across which the recording head is moved in thescanning manner, and which is relatively spacious. Therefore, the abovedescribed first problem can be solved.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to a liquid ejection typerecording device including a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquidonto a recording material while scanning the recording material in adirection crossing with a feeding direction of the recording material, arecoverying unit for sucking the liquid through a nozzle of the liquidejecting head, said ink cartridge further comprising a liquid containingportion for accommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquidejecting head; a first receiving portion for receiving the liquiddischarged out of the liquid ejecting head by the recoverying unit; anda second receiving portion for receiving the liquid ejected from theliquid ejecting head to an outside of the recording material; and aconnecting portion for connecting said first receiving portion and therecoverying unit with each other, wherein said engaging portion isdisposed at a position downstream of said connecting portion withrespect to an inserting direction in which said ink cartridge isinserted into the liquid ejection type recording device.

With the employment of the above described structural arrangement for anink cartridge, the second ink holding portion which catches and holdsthe liquid ejected toward slightly outward of the edges of the recordingmedium, in terms of the primary scanning direction of the liquidejection head, by the liquid ejection head of a recording apparatus inwhich the liquid ejection head is shuttled in the directionintersectional to the recording medium conveyance direction, and whichis capable of printing across the entire surface of the recordingmedium, when the recording apparatus is in the borderless mode, becomesan integral part of an ink cartridge. In the case of such an inkcartridge, the ink cartridge is required to contain the absorbent memberfor absorbing the liquid from the liquid ejection head. Therefore, theink cartridge becomes long and narrow. Further, the first waste liquidholding portion for catching and holding the liquid discharged from theliquid ejection head also becomes another integral part of the inkcartridge. If the connective portion through which the performancerecovery unit is connected to the first waste liquid holding portion islocated at the front of an ink container in terms of the direction inwhich the ink container is inserted into the recording apparatus, as itis in the case of an ink container in accordance with the prior art, therecording apparatus dimension in terms of the primary scanning directionof the liquid ejection head becomes longer by the length equal to thelength of the waste ink drain tube which must be placed frontward of theink container, because of the frontal placement of the connectiveportion of the ink container. However, according to the above describedsecond aspect of the present invention, the connective portion for thefirst waste liquid retaining portion is placed rearward of the front endof the ink cartridge in terms of the direction in which the inkcartridge is inserted into the liquid ejection recording apparatus,making it possible to place the waste ink discharge tube on the forwardside of the ink cartridge in terms of the recording medium conveyancedirection. Therefore, it is possible to deal with the contradictionbetween the abovementioned two objectives: to reduce recording apparatussize and to increase ink container capacity.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to a liquidejection type recording device including a liquid ejecting head forejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning the recordingmaterial in a direction crossing with a feeding direction of therecording material, and liquid supplying means for supplying liquid tothe liquid ejecting head, said ink cartridge further comprising anabsorbing material for absorbing the liquid ejected to an outside of therecording material from the liquid ejecting head; a cap member providedon a side opposite a scanning region of the liquid ejecting head andextended in a direction parallel with the scanning direction of theliquid ejecting head, said cap member having an opening for exposingsaid absorbing material, wherein said cap member having said opening,including, a first opening region, provided substantially at a centerportion thereof, for receiving the liquid from portions at front, rear,both lateral sides in the feeding direction of the recording material;and second opening region and third opening region, provided at endportions so as to interpose said first opening region therebetween, forreceiving the liquid from portions at opposite end portions of therecording material, said second opening region and said third openingregion having opening areas different from each other.

With the employment of this structural arrangement for an ink cartridge,the hole of an ink cartridge for catching the liquid ejected from theliquid ejection head toward slightly outside of the edges of therecording medium is extended from one end of the ink cartridge to theother in terms of the ink cartridge insertion direction. Therefore, itis possible to provide an ink cartridge which is small relative to themain assembly of a printer, light, and yet capable of efficientlyabsorbing the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection toward slightlyoutside of the edges of the recording medium.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an liquid ejection type recording device includes a feedingunit for feeding the recording material; a liquid ejecting head forejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning the recordingmaterial in a direction crossing with a feeding direction of therecording material; a recoverying unit for suction discharge of theliquid through a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head; an ink cartridgefor accommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head,wherein said ink cartridge comprising a receiving portion for receivingthe liquid discharged from said recoverying unit; a liquid containingportion for accommodating the liquid to be supplied to said liquidejecting head; a connecting portion for connecting said and saidrecoverying unit with each other, said connecting portion is disposed ata position upstream of a front end surface portion of said ink cartridgewith respect to an inserting direction in which said ink cartridge isinserted into the liquid ejection type recording device; a tube memberfor discharging the ink from recoverying unit to said receiving portion,wherein said tube member is connected with said connecting portion whensaid ink cartridge is mounted to said liquid ejection type recordingdevice.

A recording apparatus of this type takes full advantage of thecharacteristics of an ink cartridge in accordance with the presentinvention. Therefore, not only is it smaller in size, but also, unlikelyto suffer from the internal leakage of waste ink.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a manufacturing method for manufacturing an ink cartridge whichis detachably mountable to a liquid ejection type recording deviceincluding a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid onto a recordingmaterial while scanning the recording material in a direction crossingwith a feeding direction of the recording material, a recoverying unitfor sucking the liquid through a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head anda liquid containing portion for accommodating the liquid to be suppliedto the liquid ejecting head, said ink method comprising a step ofpreparing an ink cartridge casing which at least partly constitutes theliquid containing portion and which has a recess having an opening in anupper surface adjacent a side surface of the accommodating portion; astep of inserting a second absorbing material into the recess with saidopening; a step of placing a first absorbing material on an uppersurface of ink cartridge so as to be contacted with said secondabsorbing material, after said second absorbing material insertion step;a step of forming an ink cartridge of mounting a top cap having anopening on the ink cartridge casing in which said first absorbingmaterial is placed, so that first opening in fluid communication withsaid first absorbing material is formed in a surface opposite a scanningregion of the liquid ejecting head, and a second opening in fluidcommunication with said second absorbing material is formed in a surfacedifferent for the surface having the first opening, wherein a portion inwhich said second opening is formed is disposed at a position upstreamof a front end surface portion of said ink cartridge with respect to aninserting direction in which said ink cartridge is inserted into theliquid ejection type recording device.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a manufacturing method for manufacturing an ink cartridge whichis detachably mountable to a liquid ejection type recording deviceincluding a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid onto a recordingmaterial while scanning the recording material in a direction crossingwith a feeding direction of the recording material, and a recoveryingmeans for sucking the liquid through a nozzle of the liquid ejectinghead, said ink method comprising a step of preparing a receiving portionfor receiving the liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting head by therecoverying unit; a liquid containing portion for accommodating theliquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head; a liquid supplyopening for permitting discharge of the liquid from the liquidcontaining portion to an outside; and a connecting portion forconnecting said receiving portion and said suction recoverying means,wherein the connecting portion is disposed at a position upstream of afront end surface portion of said ink cartridge with respect to aninserting direction in which said ink cartridge is inserted into theliquid ejection type recording device; and a step of injecting throughsaid liquid supply opening the liquid to be ejected from said liquidejecting head.

With the employment of the above described ink cartridge manufacturingmethods in accordance with the present invention, it is possible toeasily provide an ink cartridge in accordance with the presentinvention.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent upon consideration of the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1(a) is an external perspective view of a typical ink jet printerwhich employs an ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention,and FIG. 1(b) is an internal perspective view of the same., showing theinternal structure thereof.

FIG. 2 is a drawing for describing the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 1,regarding the state of the junction between the connective portion ofthe ink cartridge and the ink jet head while the ink jet head issupplied with the ink from the ink container.

FIG. 3(a) is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in thefirst embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3(b) is a crosssectional view of the same, at the line A-A in FIG. 3(a).

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing the positional relationship between thefirst and second waste ink retaining members of the ink cartridge inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 5(a)-5(c) are top plan views of the ink cartridge in accordancewith the present invention, and its adjacencies, in the printer mainassembly, showing what occurs as the ink cartridge is inserted into, orremoved from, the printer main assembly, and the positioning of the inkcontainer in the printer main assembly.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7(a) is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in thesecond embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7(b) is a crosssectional view of the same at the line A-A in FIG. 7(a).

FIGS. 8(a)-8(d) are top plan views of the ink cartridge in the secondembodiment, showing the ink dispersion in the ink retaining member inthe ink cartridge.

FIG. 9(a) is an external perspective view of a modified version of theink cartridge in the second embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 9(b) is an exploded perspective view of the same.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of another modified version ofthe ink cartridge in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of yet another modified versionof the ink cartridge in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in thethird embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic drawing for depicting the distance between thesecond waste ink retaining member in the ink cartridge and the surfaceof the ink jet head having the ejection orifices, in each embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationships among ink droplet volume,elapsed time after ejection, and the distance an ink droplet hastraveled.

FIGS. 15(a)-15(d) are exploded perspective views of an ink cartridge inaccordance with the present invention, sequentially showing the methodfor manufacturing the ink cartridge.

FIG. 16 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in themodification of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the appended drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a drawing for depicting a typical ink jet printer whichemploys an ink cartridge in accordance with the present invention; (a)being an external view, and (b) being a perspective view for showing theinternal structure thereof. FIG. 2 is a drawing for depicting how theconnective portion of the ink cartridge is connected to the ink jet headof the ink jet printer, shown in FIG. 1, and the state of connectionbetween the two.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 30 is provided with a sheetfeeder cassette 31, which is removably mountable in the rear portion ofthe ink jet printer 30. In the sheet feeder cassette 31, a plurality ofsheets of printing paper, which are to be fed into the main assembly ofthe printer, are stored in layers. Also, the printer is provided with aprint delivery hole 32 through which a printed printing paper P isdischarged, and which opens at the front end of the printer. After aprinting paper P is fed into the printer main assembly, an intendedimage is printed on the printing paper P by an ink jet head 33, which issupported by a pair of guide rails 38 extended in the directionperpendicular to the direction in which the printing paper P isconveyed, and is reciprocally moved, while ejecting ink. Ink is ejected,that is, pushed out, from each of the plurality of nozzles by thethermal or vibratory energy generated by an unshown heat generatingelement (or plurality of heat generating elements) or an unshownvibration generating element (plurality of vibratory elements) disposedin the adjacencies of each of the ejection orifices of the ink ejectionnozzles.

An ink cartridge 10 for holding recording ink is replaceably mountablein the printer main assembly through an ink cartridge replacement hole34, which is located in one of the lateral walls of the printer mainassembly. After the installation of the ink cartridge 10 into theprinter main assembly, it is below the passage through which theprinting paper P is conveyed after it is fed into the printer mainassembly. In other words, there is an ink cartridge chamber 35 forholding the ink cartridge 10, below the printing paper passage, as shownin FIG. 2. The top wall of the ink cartridge chamber 35, is providedwith a hole as the passage between the ink jet head 33 and the inkretaining member for catching and retaining the waste ink from the inkjet head.

Referring to FIGS. 1(b) and 2(a), provided that the ink cartridge 10 isin the proper position in the ink jet printer, when the ink jet head isin the home position, the cylindrical needle 36 of the ink jet head 33can be inserted into the connection holes 5 a of the ink cartridge,which will be described later. Thus, as the ink jet head 33 which ejectsink as described above is joined with the ink cartridge 10 in the inkcartridge chamber 35, the cylindrical needles 36 of the ink jet head 33which ejects ink as described above, are inserted into the connectiveholes 5 a (FIG. 2(d)), and the ink in each of the ink pouches in the inkcontainer 10 is introduced by a predetermined amount into thecorresponding liquid chamber (unshown) of the ink jet head 33 by thenegative pressure generated by a pump (unshown) connected to the ink jethead 33. In order to assure that the cylindrical needles 36 are insertedone for one into the connective holes 5 a, the ink jet head 33 isprovided with a positioning guide pin 37, so that as the positioningguide pin 37 is inserted into the positioning hole 5 b of the inkcartridge 10, it is assured that the cylindrical needles 36 areaccurately positioned relative to the connective holes 5 a.

Prior to the beginning of the actual printing by the ink jet head 33,the cylindrical needles 36 are pulled out of the connective holes 5 a.In other words, while the ink jet head 33 is away from this position(home position), and is moved in a manner of scanning the printing paperP to print an image on the printing paper P, there is no contact betweenthe cylindrical needles 36 and ink container 10 (connective holes 5 a).However, after the completion of a certain amount of a printing job, theink jet head 33 is returned to the home position, where the cylindricalneedles 36 of the ink jet head 33 are again inserted into the connectiveholes 5 a, one for one, and the ink in the ink cartridge is drawn by thepredetermined amount into the ink jet head 33 by the negative pressuregenerated by the abovementioned pump, as described above, refilling theink jet head 33 with ink. In other words, the ink jet head 33 isintermittently returned to the home position for refilling.

In order to repeatedly use this ink recharging system, the insertion ofthe cylindrical needles 36 of the ink jet head 33 into the joint portion5, and the removal thereof from the joint portion 5, must be repeated.Thus, the ink cartridge and the printer main assembly are provided withgrooves (unshown), and a shaft vertically movable by a cam or the like,respectively, so that as the shaft is vertically moved, the inkcartridge itself is vertically moved, causing thereby the cylindricalneedles 36 to be inserted into the connective holes 5 a of the printermain assembly, or removing the needles 36 from the connective holes 5 a.

An ink pouch placed in the ink containing portion 3 of the ink cartridge10 is designed to minimize the ink cartridge 10 in projected area. Morespecifically, two pieces of film, which are 32 mm in width, 130 mm inlength, and 0.1 mm in thickness, are thermally welded to each other toform the ink pouch when the ink pouch is full, its thickness is 3 mm. Inorder to assure that ink is properly ejected through all ejectionorifices of the ink jet head 33, the performance recovery operation iscarried out. Thus, in this embodiment, each of the cyan, magenta, andyellow ink pouches is filled with 4.2 mm of ink, which equals the sum ofthe amount of the ink necessary for the performance recovery operationand the normal amount of ink necessary to complete 50 prints. As a givenink cartridge is depleted of ink, it is replaced with a brand-newcartridge of the same type to continue the interrupted on-going printingoperation.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the ink jet cartridge in accordance with thepresent invention will be described in detail. FIG. 3(a) is an externalperspective view of the ink cartridge in the first embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view of the same,at the line A-A in FIG. 3(a), showing the internal structure thereof.

The ink cartridge 10 shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) comprises a boxy frame2, which is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped. The inkcartridge 10 also comprises a second waste ink catching portion 11,which is on the boxy frame 2 and is virtually sealed with the top lid 1of the ink cartridge 10. The boxy frame 2 is provided with the inkholding portion 3, which is sealed with the bottom lid 4. Further, theboxy frame 2 is provided with a recess, in which a first waste inkretaining portion 12 is placed, and which is located next to the inkholding portion 3, being virtually sealed by the top lid 1 of the inkcartridge 10.

The ink cartridge 10 also comprises: a first hole 21, which is a part ofthe top lid 1, that is, the top wall of the ink cartridge 10; and aconnective portion 22, which is a part of one of the side walls of theink cartridge 10. The waste ink, that is, the excess ink ejected fromthe ink jet head (unshown in FIG. 3) during actual printing, is caughtby the second waste ink catching portion 11 through the first hole 21.There is another type of waste ink, that is, the ink suctioned throughthe ejection orifices of the ink jet head 33 by the performance recoveryapparatus (unshown) of the printer main assembly to restore theperformance of the ink jet head. This type of waste ink is dischargedinto the first waste ink retaining portion 12 through the drainingsystem of the printer main assembly comprising a piece of tube or thelike, and the connective portion 22 of the ink cartridge 10, In otherwords, the space formed between the top wall of the boxy frame 2 and thetop lid 1 of the ink cartridge 10 constitutes the second waste inkcatching portion which catches and retains the liquid ejected towardslightly outside the boundary of the printing medium by the ink jethead, whereas the space formed next to the ink storage portion 3 by oneof the side walls of the ink holding portion 3, a part of the top lid 1of the ink cartridge 10, and one of the side walls of the ink cartridge10 constitutes the first waste ink retaining portion 12, which retainsthe ink suctioned out of the ink jet head through the ejection orificesthereof. The first hole 21 of the top lid 1 of the ink cartridge 10leads to the second waste liquid-retaining portion, or the portion whichcatches and retains the excess liquid ejected from the ink jet headduring the actual printing, whereas the connective portion 22 as a partof one of the side walls of the ink cartridge 10 leads to the firstwaste ink retaining portion, or the portion which retains the inksuctioned through the ejection orifices of the ink jet head.

The ink storage portion 3 is enabled to hold three ink containers(unshown) in layers, which are filled with cyan, magenta, and yellowinks, one for one, used by the ink jet printer (FIG. 1). These inkcontainers are in the form of a pouch capable of deforming in responseto the drawing of the ink therefrom.

The ink cartridge 10 is removably mountable in the printer mainassembly. The lengthwise direction of the ink cartridge 10 roughlymatches the direction in which the ink cartridge 10 is inserted into theprinter main assembly. It is provided with a joint portion 5, throughwhich the inks, different in color, in the ink containers in the inkstorage portion 3 are supplied to the ink jet head, and whichconstitutes the top front portion of the ink cartridge 10 in terms ofthe ink cartridge insertion direction.

The joint portion 5 comprises: a plurality (three in this embodiment) ofconnective holes 5 a for supplying the ink jet head with ink; and asingle (one in this embodiment) positioning hole for accuratelypositioning the ink jet head when connecting the ink jet head to the inkcartridge 10. Within each of the connective holes 5 a, a sealing member(unshown) is provided for preventing the ink evaporation while theprinter is not in use.

Next, referring to FIG. 4 which depicts the ink cartridge 10 from theink jet head (unshown) side, and in which the top lid 1 as the top wallof the ink cartridge 10 has been removed, the positional relationshipbetween the first and second waste ink retaining portions 12 and 11 willbe described.

As will be evident from FIG. 4, the second ink catching portion 11 is ontop of the boxy frame 2, and the first ink catching portion 12 is belowthe level of the second ink catching portion 11. In FIG. 4, thedirection in which the ink cartridge 10 is inserted into the ink jetprinter (unshown) is indicated by an arrow mark B. As the ink cartridge10 is inserted into the ink jet printer, the drain tube 40 of theprinter main assembly enters the first ink catching portion 12 throughthe connective portion 22.

Also as shown in FIG. 4, the opening of the connective portion 22,through which the drain tube 40 enters the first ink catching portion12, is not at the front end of the ink cartridge 10 in terms of the inkcartridge insertion direction; it is located at a point approximatelycorresponding to the mid point of the first ink catching portion 11 interms of the ink cartridge insertion direction. This structuralarrangement makes it possible to position the drain tube 40 on thefrontward side of the ink cartridge 10 in terms of the direction inwhich the recording medium is conveyed, making it thereby possible toreduce the dimension of the ink jet printer 30 in terms of the directionin which the carriage is reciprocally moved. In particular, the ink jetprinter in this embodiment is structured so that the recording head isconnected to the ink cartridge 10 only when it is necessary for therecording head to be supplied with ink. Therefore, a recording apparatussuch as the one in this embodiment needs to be equipped with a mechanismfor connecting the recording head to the ink cartridge only when theconnection is necessary. In this embodiment, therefore, the ink jetprinter is structured (FIGS. 2(c) and 2(d)) so that the ink cartridge isrotated about its rear end in terms of the cartridge insertiondirection, in order to connect the ink cartridge to the recording head.This structural arrangement of placing the connective portion at arearward point of the ink cartridge in terms of the ink cartridgeinsertion direction, as in this embodiment, offers an extra effect ofpreventing the mechanism for rotating the ink cartridge, frominterfering with the drain tube, making it thereby easier to lay thedrain tube around the printer main assembly, and also, reducing the loadupon the drain tube. The ink cartridge in this embodiment is alsoprovided with a recess 50, into which a pin for locking in position theink cartridge in the printer main assembly fits. The recess 50 isbetween the front end and the connective portion of the ink cartridge,in terms of the cartridge insertion direction. This positionalrelationship is not mandatory for obtaining the above described effects,but is effective for additional size reduction. Next, referring to FIG.5, what occurs as the ink cartridge is inserted into the printer mainassembly will be described in more detail. FIG. 5 is a top plan view ofthe ink cartridge in this embodiment, showing how the ink cartridge ispositioned relative to the printer main assembly, and how the inkcartridge is mounted into, or removed from, the printer main assembly.Referring to FIG. 5, the wall of the ink cartridge 10, which comprisesthe connective portion 22, is located rearward of the front end of theink cartridge 10 in terms of the direction in which the ink cartridge 10is inserted into the printer main assembly, as described above. In theinitial stage (FIG. 5(a)) of the insertion of the ink cartridge 10 intothe printer main assembly, the connective portion 22 faces the tip ofthe drain tube 40. The drain tube 40 is supported by the guide frame 47in the printer main assembly. The drain tube 40 is fitted with a springseat 46, which is on the tip side of the drain tube, being kept pressedtoward the tip of the drain tube by the elastic member (spring) 45. Theaforementioned recess 50 (FIG. 3(a)) for keeping the ink cartridge 10properly positioned in the printer main assembly is a part of the leftside wall of the ink cartridge 10, in terms of the cartridge insertiondirection, being located between the front end of the first waste inkretaining portion 12 (FIGS. 3(b) and 4), which comprises the connectiveportion 22 into which the drain tube for discharging the waste ink isinserted. In other words, the recess 50 is on the forward side of thewall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connective portion 22. Theprinter main assembly is provided with a latch 48, in the form of a pin,which engages into the recess 50 of the ink cartridge 10 to lock the inkcartridge 10 in position, as the ink cartridge 10 is inserted into thepredetermined position (FIG. 5(b)) in the printer main assembly. Theengagement between the latch 48 and recess 50 can be dissolved bypressing the release lever 49 of the printer assembly in the cartridgeinsertion direction. In other words, as the release lever 49 is pushedin the direction indicated by an arrow mark in FIG. 5(c), the latch 48engaged in the recess 50 is pivoted about the supporting shaft thereof,being tilted in the direction opposite to the cartridge insertiondirection so that it comes out of the recess 50.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, how the ink cartridge 10 is positionedrelative to the printer main assembly, how the ink cartridge 10 ismounted into the printer main assembly, and how the ink cartridge 10 isremoved from the printer main assembly, will be described.

As the ink cartridge 10 is inserted deeper into the printer mainassembly (FIG. 5(a)), the drain tube 40 supported by the guide fame 47of the printer main assembly is inserted into the waste ink retainingmember (unshown) in the first waste ink retaining portion 12 through theconnective portion 22 of the ink cartridge 10. Further, as the inkcartridge 10 is inserted, the elastic member (spring) 45 is compressedby the wall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connective portion 22through the elastic member (spring) seat 46. Thus, the force (reactiveforce) generated by the compressed elastic member 45 acts in thedirection to push the wall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connectiveportion 22 in the direction opposite to the cartridge insertiondirection. As the ink cartridge 10 is further inserted into the printermain assembly, with the latch 48 of the printer main assembly sliding onthe side wall of the ink cartridge 10, the latch pin 48, in the form ofa pin, of the printer main assembly fits into the recess 50 (Point G),preventing the ink cartridge 10 from being inserted further (FIG. 5(b)).At this point (Point K), the elastic member (spring) seat 46 is incontact with the wall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connectiveportion 22, with the elastic member (spring) seat 46 remaining incontact with the wall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connectiveportion 22. When the ink cartridge 10 is in this position, the elasticmember (spring) 45 is in the compressed state, and the drain tube 40 hasfully entered the first waste ink retaining portion 12 of the inkcartridge 10 (FIGS. 3(b) and 4). In other words, this is the point atwhich the mounting of the ink cartridge 10 into the ink jet printer isend. On the other hand, when it is necessary to remove the ink cartridge10 from the ink jet printer, the release lever 49 is to be pushed in thedirection indicated by an arrow mark, as shown in FIG. 5(c). As therelease lever 49 is pushed, the pin-shaped latch 48 engaged in therecess 50 of the ink cartridge 10 is moved out of the recess 50. Inother words, the pin-shaped latch 48 becomes disengaged from the inkcartridge 10, allowing the ink cartridge 10 to be moved in the directionindicated by an arrow mark (direction opposite to cartridge insertiondirection), that is, in the direction to be pushed out of the printermain assembly, by the resiliency of the elastic member (spring) 45,which acts on the wall of the ink cartridge 10 having the connectiveportion 22 through the spring seat 46. As a result, the ink cartridge 10moves in the direction to be pushed out of the ink jet printer, in thedirection opposite to the cartridge insertion direction, becoming readyto be pulled out of the ink jet printer. As described above, the recess50 of the ink cartridge 10 into which the latch of the printer mainassembly latches, is located forward of the wall of the ink cartridge 10having the connective portion 22 in terms of the ink cartridge insertiondirection. Therefore, the space in the form of a rectangularparallelepiped extending from the wall of the ink cartridge 10 havingthe connective portion 22 to the front end of the ink cartridge 10, interms of the cartridge insertion direction, can be utilized as the spacefor accommodating the mechanism, on the printer main assembly side, tobe activated to facilitate the mounting of the ink cartridge 10 into theprinter main assembly or the dismounting of the ink cartridge 10therefrom. In other words, the mechanism for facilitating the mountingor dismounting of the ink cartridge 10 can be fitted in this space.Therefore, the main assembly of the ink jet printer does not need to beincreased in size to accommodate the ink cartridge 10.

Next, the first hole 21 and connective portion 22 of the ink cartridge10 in this embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 6 is a topplan view of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 3. As printing is started,the ink jet head ejects ink toward the first hole 21 of the inkcartridge 10, which faces the ink jet head, through the hole of the inkcartridge chamber (FIG. 2(a)). As for the movement of the ink jet head,the ink jet head is shuttled within the range R-L indicated by atwo-headed arrow. The recording paper on which printing is done is fedin the direction (secondary scanning direction) roughly perpendicular tothe direction indicated by the two-headed arrow. In other words, therange R-L is the ink ejection range of the ink jet head. With theprovision of this setup, in order to produce a borderless print, thatis, to cover the entire surface of the recording medium with an image,the ink jet head is activated in the following manner. That is, in termsof the recording medium conveyance direction, the ink jet head is madeto begin printing, that is, ejecting ink, slightly before the recordingmedium reaches the printing track of the ink jet head, and to continueto print, that is, eject ink, until slightly after the trailing edge ofthe recording medium passes the printing track of the ink jet head. Interms of the shuttling direction of the ink jet head, that is, thedirection roughly perpendicular to the recording medium conveyancedirection, the ink jet head is made to begin printing action slightlybefore it reaches one edge of the recording medium, from the outward ofthe recording medium, and to continue printing action until slightlyafter it passes the other edge of the recording medium. Thus, during aborderless printing operation, the ink ejected toward slightly outsidethe range of the recording medium, in other words, excess ink, and/orthe mist effected by such ink, adheres to the ink cartridge 10, unlessit is prevented from doing so. Thus, in order to prevent the abovedescribed excess ink from directly adhering to the top lid 1 of the inkcartridge 10, the top lid 1 is provided with the first hole 21. As it iswell-known, in order to recover the performance of the ink jet headafter the ink jet head is kept inactive for a long period of time, or toprevent the color mixture, the ink jet head must periodically be made toeject ink (preparatory ejection) without the presence of the recordingmedium, as a part of a maintenance operation. This is another reason thetop lid 1 of the ink cartridge 10 is provided with the first hole 21; inother words, the first hole 21 is provided to prevent the ink ejectedfor maintenance from directly adhering to the top lid 1 (right and leftend portions of the first hole 21 in FIG. 3(a)). Thus, the position,size, shape, and number of first hole 21 are decided in consideration ofthe factors which affect the catching and retaining the excess ink(inclusive of ink mist), or the waste ink, generated during a borderlessprinting operation, and the factors which affect the catching andretaining the waste ink generated by preparatory or maintenance inkejection. In terms of the secondary scanning direction, the first hole21 needs to be roughly as wide as the pitch at which the recordingmedium is moved in the secondary scanning direction. Further, in aborderless printing operation, ink is ejected even slightly outside therange of the recording medium. In other words, in reality, the range, interms of the recording medium conveyance direction, in which ink isejected is slightly wider than the pitch at which the printing paper isconveyed. Therefore, its width is slightly greater than the distance arecording medium is advanced per conveyance. On the other hand, in termsof the primary scanning direction, the dimension of the first hole hasonly to be as wide as the length of the line of the ink ejection nozzlesof the ink jet head. In the case of a recording paper of an A4 size, orthe most commonly used recording paper, the length of its shorter edgeis roughly 210 mm. Thus, when an A4 size recording paper is fed into theprinter main assembly so that it long edge becomes parallel to therecording medium conveyance direction, 210 mm is the width of therecording medium in terms of the primary scanning direction. On theother hand, the dimension of each of the lines of the ink ejectionorifices in terms of the secondary scanning direction is roughly 25.4mm. Further, the ink jet head in this embodiment has three lines ofejection orifices: a line of magenta ink ejecting orifices, a line ofcyan ink ejecting orifices, and a line of yellow ink ejecting orifices,which extend in parallel in the direction perpendicular to the primaryscanning direction. The distance between the two outward lines ofejection orifices is roughly 5.42 mm. Thus, if an ink jet printer isstructured so that the ink cartridge is placed below the above describedplaten, the area which the ink jet head covers as it moves from one endof its moving range to the other when the ink jet printer is in aborderless printing mode becomes rectangular, and its minimum size isroughly several hundreds of millimeters, in terms of the primaryscanning direction, which roughly equals the aforementioned width of therecording medium, and several tens of millimeters in terms of thesecondary scanning direction. In this embodiment, the first hole 21 isan integral combination of the left and right end portions created bywidening the lengthwise end portions of the hole 21 in the recordingmedium conveyance direction (direction in which recording medium isconveyed) in order to catch the ink from the ink jet head when the inkjet head is slightly outside the range of the recording medium, and thecenter portion (range R-L) for catching the excess ink, that is, the inkejected slightly ahead of the arrival of the leading edge of therecording medium, or slightly after the arrival of the trailing edge ofthe recording medium. Referring to FIG. 6, the printer in thisembodiment uses the left (L) side of the printer as the reference side,relative to which the position of the recording medium in terms of thedirection perpendicular to the recording medium conveyance direction isset. Therefore, in order to accommodate plural types of printing media(recording media) different in size, the right end portion 163 of thefirst hole 12 is made longer than the left end portion 161 of the firsthole 12, in terms of the primary scanning direction of the ink jet head.Further, the ink jet printer in this embodiment is structured so thatthe preparatory ejection is done when the ink jet head is opposing theend portion 161, or left end portion, of the first hole 12. Further, theamount, by which ink mist is generated by the air flow induced duringthe ejection sequence and/or the reciprocal movement of the ink jethead, is greater on the end portion 161 of the first hole 12, becausenot only is the preparatory ejection is done when the ink jet head is inthe range of the end portion 161, or the left end, of the first hole 21,but also, after the completion of the mounting of the ink container intothe printer main assembly, the rear end of the ink cartridge, in termsof the ink cartridge insertion direction, is very close to the wall ofthe printer main assembly due to the internal structure of the printermain assembly. Therefore, the end portion 161 of the first hole 12 ismade wider than the center portion 162 and right end portion 163, interms of the recording paper conveyance direction.

As described above, the ink cartridge in this embodiment of the presentinvention is employed by a printer capable of producing a borderlessprint, and is mounted into the printer main assembly so that the topwall of the ink cartridge faces the area which the ink jet head coversas it moves from one end of its moving range to the other. It isprovided with the ink retaining member for absorbing and retaining theink discharged during a head performance recovery operation. It ischaracterized in that, in order to expose the waste ink retainingmember, the wall of the ink cartridge facing the ink jet head isprovided with the first hole comprising: the center portion for catchingthe excess ink (inclusive of ink mist) which results while printing onthe leading and trailing edge portions of the recording medium, in termsof the printing medium conveyance direction, when the ink jet printer isin the borderless mode; and the end portions for catching the inkejected during the preparatory ejection, and the ink ejected when theink jet head is slightly outside the range of the recording medium interms of the primary scanning direction. In other words, the first holethrough which the waste ink is caught and retained by the waste inkretaining member is extended from slightly outside of one edge of therecording medium to the slightly outside of the other edge in terms ofthe primary scanning direction of the ink jet head. Therefore, the inkcartridge in this embodiment is small and light, and yet, superior interms of the efficiency with which waste ink (inclusive of excess inkand ink mist) is absorbed. Obviously, it is no higher than an inkcartridge in accordance with the prior art, in terms of the cost forabsorbing the above described waste ink. Further, it does not requirethat the ink jet printer main assembly be increased in size, inproportion to the increase in the volume of the waste ink, inconsideration of the length of the service life of the ink jet printer.

Embodiment 2

Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.FIG. 7(a) is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in thesecond embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7(b) is across-sectional view of the ink cartridge shown in FIG. 7(a), showingthe internal structure thereof at the line A-A in FIG. 7(a). Theportions of the ink cartridge in this embodiment similar in functions asthose in the first embodiment will be given the same referential symbolsas those in the first embodiment, and will not be described here. As isclear in FIG. 7(b), in this embodiment, the portion for catching the inkejected onto the area outside the range of a recording medium and theportion for catching the ink discharged for performance recovery aredirectly connected to each other. More specifically, this secondembodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the secondwaste ink retaining member 13 in the second waste ink retaining portion11 is in connection with the first waste ink retaining member 14 in thefirst waste ink retaining portion 12. Thus, the waste ink retainingportions of the ink cartridge in this embodiment will be described inmore detail.

The second waste ink retaining member 13 and first waste ink retainingmember 14 are formed of multilayer material comprising a plurality ofnonwoven fabrics made mainly of pulp and a plurality of nonwoven fabricsmade of synthetic fibers. The second waste ink retaining member 13 isformed mainly of pulp. It is roughly 0.2 g/cm³ in density, 30 mm inwidth, 130 mm in length, and 3 mm in thickness. It is capable ofabsorbing roughly 10 ml of ink. On the other hand, the first waste inkretaining member 14 is 0.1 g/cm³ in density, 9 mm in width, 45 mm inlength, and 4 mm in thickness. It is capable of absorbing roughly 1 mlof ink. Obviously, the second waste ink retaining member 13, that is,the ink retaining member which faces the ink jet head, is made higher indensity than the first waste ink retaining member 14. The two waste inkretaining members are roughly the same in fiber diameter. Therefore, thesecond waste ink retaining member 13 is greater in capillary force thanthe first waste ink retaining member 14. Therefore, ink is preventedfrom flowing backward from the second waste ink retaining member 13,which is capable of retaining a greater amount of ink than the secondwaste ink retaining member 14, to the first waste ink retaining member14; in other words, the ink retaining members held in a small cartridgeare better utilized. Although in this embodiment, both the first andsecond waste ink retaining members 14 and 13 are formed mainly of pulp,they may be formed mainly of fibers of such resin as polypropylene orpolyethylene which are 2×10⁻¹ mm and 6×10⁻¹, respectively. Further, allthat is necessary in order to prevent ink from flowing from the secondink retaining portion to the first ink retaining portion is to make thesecond waste ink retaining member 13 smaller in fiber diameter than thefirst waste ink retaining member 14 while equalizing the two waste inkretaining portions in the density of the ink retaining members therein.In other words, all that is necessary to prevent ink from flowing fromthe second waste ink retaining portion 12 to first waste ink retainingportion 11 is to make the second waste ink retaining member greater incapillary force than the first waste ink retaining member, regardless ofthe fiber diameter and density of the two ink retaining members. Fromthe standpoint of the ink dispersion speed, the capillary force of thesecond waste ink retaining member is desired to be twice that of thefirst waste ink retaining member.

As the ink cartridge 10 is mounted into the printer main assembly, thedrain tube (unshown) for draining the ink suctioned from the nozzles toassure the reliability of the ink jet head 33 in terms of ink ejectionis inserted into the first waste ink retaining member 14. As the draintube is inserted into the first waste ink retaining member 14, the inkhaving been retained in the first waste ink retaining member 14, it isquickly absorbed into the second waste ink retaining member 13 withoutflowing back into the drain tube, because of the difference in capillaryforce between the second waste ink retaining member 13 (greater incapillary force than first waste ink retaining member 14) in contactwith the first waste ink retaining member 14. After the mounting of theink cartridge 10 into the printer main assembly, the drain tube is leftinserted in the first waste ink retaining member, preventing thereby inkfrom leaking out of the cartridge through the drain tube, by thedifference in their attitude, until the ink cartridge 10 is removed fromthe printer main assembly.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the dispersion of ink within the waste inkretaining members in the ink cartridge after the mounting of the inkcartridge into the ink jet printer in this embodiment will be describedin detail. Referring to FIG. 8(a), as the ink cartridge is inserted intothe printer main assembly in the direction indicated by an arrow mark B,the drain tube 40 for discharging the waste ink from the ink jet head ofthe printer is inserted into the first waste ink retaining member 14through the connective portion 22. Then, as printing is started, ink isejected by the ink jet head 33 toward the first hole 21 of the inkcartridge, which the ink jet head 33 faces, with the platen positionedbetween the ink jet head 33 and first hole 21, in terms of the directionperpendicular to the platen. The ink jet head 33 is shuttled within therange R-L indicated by a two-headed arrow mark in the drawing. Theprinting medium P on which printing is to be done is moved in theprinter main assembly in the direction virtually perpendicular to thedirection of the range R-L. The range R-L is the range in which the inkjet head is shuttled while ejecting ink in the direction perpendicularto the printing medium conveyance direction. When the ink jet printer isin the borderless mode, that is, when covering the entire surface of theprinting medium P with an image, not only is ink ejected toward theprinting medium P, but also, toward slightly outside the leading andtrailing edges of the printing medium P, in terms of the printing mediumconveyance direction, and also, toward slightly outside the two edges ofthe printing medium P, in terms of the primary scanning direction of theink jet head. Thus, the ink ejected toward slightly outside the edges ofthe printing medium P, and resultant ink mist, becomes the waste ink.This waste ink, and the waste ink resulting from the maintenance of theink jet printer, for example, preparatory ejection, are absorbed intothe second waste ink retaining member 13 through the first hole 21. FIG.8(b) shows how the above described waste ink created when the ink jetprinter is in the borderless mode, and the waste ink resulting from themaintenance ejection such as preparatory ejection, are absorbed into thesecond waste ink retaining member 13. As shown in FIG. 8(b), the endportions of the second ink retaining portions 13, in terms of theprimary scanning direction of the ink jet head, provided for catchingboth the waste ink resulting from the preparatory ink ejection, and theink ejected toward slightly outside the two edges of the printingmedium, in terms of the primary scanning direction of the ink jet head,is greater than the center portion of the second ink retaining portion13, in terms of the amount of the ink ejected thereon. Therefore, theyare greater in the speed at which ink disperses through them than thecenter portion. In other words, in the end portions, ink disperses asindicated by referential symbols 550 a and 550 c. In comparison, thecenter portion of the second waste ink retaining member 13, whichcatches the waste ink resulting from the ink ejected toward slightlyoutward of the leading and trailing edges of the printing medium, interms of the printing medium conveyance direction, is smaller in theamount of the ink it catches than the end portions thereof, because theamount of this type of waste ink is smaller, and the preliminaryejection is sometimes not done. Therefore, the center portion of thesecond waste ink retaining member 13 is smaller in the amount of the inkit catches, that is, the amount of the ink which disperses therein.Thus, if a large number of prints are continuously produced, the amountof ink in the areas 550 a and 550 c in the end portions, respectively,of the ink retaining member 13 is likely to become substantially greaterthan that in the area 550 b in the center portion of the ink retainingmember 13. In addition, the ink suctioned from the ink jet head of theink jet printer and discharged into the first waste ink retainingportion 14 is absorbed into the areas 550 c and 550 c through the firstwaste ink retaining member 14, exacerbating the above describedcondition of the second waste ink retaining member 13. For this reason,if the second waste ink retaining member 13 is insufficiently absorbent,for example, if the ink, which was initially discharged after an ink jetprinter had been in storage for a long time, has solidified on and inthe second waste ink retaining member 13, the second waste ink retainingmember 13 may fail to fully absorb the waste ink. In order to avert thissituation, the present invention structures an ink cartridge so that thewall of the ink cartridge having the connective portion 22 is positionedrearward of the front end of the ink cartridge in terms of the directionin which the ink cartridge is inserted into the printer main assembly;the wall with the connective portion 22 is desired to be positionedroughly in the middle of the range of the second waste ink retainingmember 14, in terms of the ink container insertion direction. How theexcess ink from the ink jet head 33, and the ink discharged from thedrain tube 40, are absorbed into the waste ink retaining members anddispersed therein is shown in FIGS. 8(c) and 8(d).

More specifically, FIG. 8(c) shows that the ink 550 d discharged fromthe drain tube 40 is absorbed by the first waste ink retaining member 14in the ink container, which is in the condition shown in FIG. 8(b), anddispersed therein. This dispersion reaches the second waste inkretaining member 13. Thus, as the ink discharge from the drain tube 40is repeated, the ink 550 d from the drain tube 40 disperses further intothe second waste ink retaining member 13, toward the center portionthereof. Eventually, the ink 550 d disperses in a pattern indicated byan arrow mark 550 in FIG. 8(d). In other words, the waste ink resultingfrom the out-of-boundary ejection, waste ink resulting from preparatoryejection, and waste ink from the discharge ink drain, are more or lessevenly dispersed throughout the second waste ink retaining member 13,even to the corner sections. The total of the amounts of these wasteinks can be simply estimated by subtracting the capacity of the inkpouch(es) in the ink cartridge from the amount of the ink(s) actuallyusable for printing (amount of printing ink). Thus, all that isnecessary in order to prevent the ink leakage from the ink cartridge isto give the waste ink absorbing portion an ink capacity, in terms of theamount of the ink it can absorb, of no less than this estimation of thetotal amount of waste ink. As described above, in this embodiment, thewall of the ink cartridge, which faces the liquid ejection head, isprovided with the first hole through which the second waste inkretaining member is exposed, in order to catch by the second wasteliquid retaining member the waste liquid resulting from theout-of-boundary ejection when an ink jet printer is in the borderlessmode. On the other hand, the waste liquid which results because liquidis suctioned through the ejection orifices of the liquid ejection forthe maintenance of the liquid ejection head is discharged into the firstwaste liquid retaining member through the connective portion. In thisembodiment, however, the first waste liquid retaining member is placedin contact with the second waste liquid retaining member. Therefore, itis possible to make the waste liquid discharged into the first wasteliquid retaining member to be absorbed into the second waste liquidretaining member. Further, the material for the second waste liquidretaining member is made greater in capillary force than that for thefirst waste liquid retaining member. Therefore, the waste liquid isefficiently absorbed into the second waste liquid retaining member.Further, when a liquid-jet printer structured so that its liquidejection head is shuttled in the direction perpendicular to thedirection in the recording medium is conveyed is in the borderless mode,the waste liquid resulting from the out-of-boundary ejection, in termsof the primary scanning direction of the liquid-jet head is caught bythe lengthwise end portions of the waste liquid retaining portion. Sincea liquid cartridge (ink cartridge) is designed in consideration of theabove described configuration of the waste liquid retaining members forabsorbing and retaining the waste liquid from the liquid ejection head,the cartridge becomes long and narrow. In this embodiment, however, theconnective portion of the cartridge, through which the waste liquidresulting from the preparatory ejection from the liquid ejection head isdischarged and absorbed into the liquid retaining members is not locatedat one of the lengthwise ends of the cartridge. Therefore, the problemthat the waste liquid fails to be efficiently absorbed into the liquidretaining members, and evenly dispersed therein, does not occur. Morespecifically, the connective portion through which the waste ink whichresults as liquid is suctioned through the nozzles of the liquidejection head in order to maintain the liquid ejection head in terms ofliquid ejection reliability is positioned rearward of the front end ofthe liquid container in terms of the liquid cartridge insertiondirection. With the provision of this arrangement, the waste liquid isabsorbed into the liquid retaining members, from the roughly mid pointsof the liquid retaining members in terms of the lengthwise directionthereof. Therefore, as the waste liquid is absorbed into the liquidretaining members, it is evenly distributed in the liquid retainingmembers. In other words, it is assured that the waste liquid is absorbedinto the waste liquid retaining members, and is evenly dispersedthroughout the entirely of the waste liquid retaining members in thewaste liquid catching portions. Even dispersion of the waste liquidthroughout the waste liquid retaining members minimizes the possibilityof the local concentration of the waste liquid, minimizing thereby thepossibility that the liquid leaks within, or out of, the liquid-jetprinter, due to the vibrations, impacts resulting from falls, changes inambience, for example, temperature, when the printer is transported by auser, with the liquid cartridge (ink cartridge) left in the printer.This embodiment is particularly effective when applied to the inkcartridge to be mounted in the small ink jet printer, in particular, anink cartridge to be mounted in a portable ink jet printer, that is, anink jet printer likely to be frequent carried by a user. Further, inthis embodiment, the total of the capacities of the second and firstwaste liquid retaining members is made roughly the same as the total ofthe capacities of the plurality of liquid pouches different in the colorof the ink therein. To elaborate, the number of prints printable by aprinter is determined by the amount of the liquid stored in the inkcartridge(s) in the printer. Thus, in this embodiment, a combination ofliquid retaining members capable of absorbing and retaining the wasteliquid by the amount equal to the total amount of liquid necessary toyield a predetermined number of prints is placed in the ink cartridge.Therefore, the waste liquid retaining members in this embodiment aresmaller in volume than the counterparts in a liquid cartridge inaccordance with the prior art, making it thereby possible to reduce themain assembly of a recording apparatus in size. Further, the wasteliquid resulting from the out-of-boundary ejection, and the liquidejected discharged during the maintenance of the ink jet head, areretained in the waste liquid retaining members in the ink cartridge, andare removed from the recording apparatus as the ink cartridge isreplaced. Therefore, the waste ink does not remain permanentlyaccumulated in the recording apparatus main assembly. Therefore, notonly it is possible to prevent a recording apparatus from beingincreased in weight by the waste liquid, but also, to reduce thepossibility of the liquid leakage in the recording apparatus.

Next, referring to FIGS. 9-11, modifications of this embodiment will bedescribed. These modifications may be optionally applied in combinationas necessary.

(Modification A)

FIG. 9 includes external and exploded perspective views of the inkcartridge in the modification of the second embodiment of the presentinvention. In this modification, the boxy ink container shell 2, to thetop wall of which the first waste ink retaining member is fixed, isprovided with a one millimeter thick partitioning wall, which is betweenthe second waste ink retaining member 13 and ink pouch holding portion3. This partitioning wall is provided with 15 holes 37 with a diameterof 5 mm. The total amount of the ink absorbable by the second waste inkretaining member 13 and first waste ink retaining member 14 is roughlyequal to the total of the ink capacity of the plurality of ink pouchesheld in the ink cartridge. Should an ink pouch in the ink pouch holdingportion 3 break, the leaked ink is absorbed into the second waste inkretaining member 12 through the holes 37. The capillary force in thesecond waste ink retaining member 13 is greater than that of each of theholes 37. Therefore, the leaked ink is swiftly absorbed into the secondwaste ink retaining member 13, without remaining in the holes 37, beingthereby prevented from soiling the hands of a user by leaking out of theink cartridge.

(Modification B)

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in anothermodification of the second embodiment of the present invention. Thismodification is different from the second embodiment in that the secondwaste ink retaining member 13 and first waste ink retaining member 14 inthe second embodiment are replaced with a single piece of waste inkretaining member, that is, a waste ink retaining member 38.Structurally, it is possible to use the second waste ink retainingmember 13 in place of the ink retaining member 38; it is possible tomake the second waste ink retaining member 13 larger, and bend theexcess portion of the larger second waste ink retaining member 13 intothe first waste ink retaining member chamber. However, in order torealize the effect similar to that of the second embodiment, the inkretaining member 38 must be structured so that the capillary force inthe ink retaining member 38 gradually reduces from the surface facingthe first ink catching hole 21 toward the connective portion 22 in FIG.10.

(Modification C)

FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge in anothermodification of the second embodiment of the present invention. Thestructure of the ink cartridge in this modification is similar to thatin the second embodiment, except that the waste ink catching andretaining portion of the ink cartridge is provided with three waste inkretaining member chambers created by the addition of a pair ofpartitioning walls 500 to the ink catching and retaining portion, sothat the waste ink retaining members for catching and retaining theabove described waste ink, inclusive of mist, resulting from thepreparatory ejection, become independent from the waste ink retainingmember for catching and retaining is the waste ink, inclusive of mist,resulting from the out-of-boundary ejection during borderless printing.Each of the pair of partitioning walls 500 is structured so that the topedge of the partitioning wall 500 will be below the top surface of thelid 1 of the ink container, and also, so that it is tilted toward thecenter of the second waste ink retaining member 13 to increase itssurface area. Further, the partitioning wall 500 is provided with aplurality of fine holes 43. The partitioning wall 500 has only to beconfigured so that the ink is guided to the center portion of the secondwaste ink retaining member 13. In other words, the attitude of thepartitioning wall 500 does not need to be limited to the slanted one, aslong as the ink is guided toward the center of the second waste inkretaining member. With the employment of this attitude for thepartitioning walls 500, the waste ink resulting from the out-of-boundaryejection is swiftly guided to the center portion of the second waste inkretaining member 13, and absorbed thereby. Moreover, the provision ofthe partitioning walls 500 is effective to compensate for the amount ofthe rigidity reduced by the provision of the first ink catching hole 21.

Embodiment 3

Next, referring to FIG. 12, the third embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 12 is an external perspective view ofthe ink cartridge in the third embodiment of the present invention.Externally, the ink cartridge 10 in this embodiment essentiallycomprises: a boxy frame 2 having the ink pouch chamber for holding asingle or plurality of ink pouches; and a waste ink unit (container) 42which contains the first waste ink retaining member for absorbing thewaste ink which results as ink is suctioned through the ejectionorifices of the ink jet head of the printer main assembly to restore inkjet performance. The boxy frame 2 is provided with a pair of supportingmembers 43 and 44, which are attached to one of the side walls thereofto hold the waste ink unit 42. The supporting member 43 is provided ahole, which open where the supporting member 43 makes contact with thewaste ink unit 42, and through which the second waste ink retainingmember 13 is exposed. Thus, as the waste ink unit 42 is inserted betweenthe pair of supporting members 43 and 44, the second waste ink retainingmember is mechanically connected to the first waste ink retainingmember. The front wall of the waste ink unit 42, in terms of thedirection in which the waste ink unit 42 is inserted between the pair ofsupporting members 43 and 44, is provided with a connective portion 22through which the drain tube is inserted into the first waste inkretaining portion 14. The boxy frame 2, pair of supporting members 43and 44, and waste ink unit 42 are structured so that as the waste inkunit 42 is inserted between the pair of supporting members 43 and 44(FIG. 12(b), the first waste ink retaining member 14 in the waste inkunit 42 comes into contact with the second waste ink retaining member 13exposed through the hole of the supporting member 43. After the fittingof the ink cartridge main assembly with the waste ink unit 42, the inkcartridge 10 in this embodiment is virtually the same in structure andfunction as the above described ink container in the second embodiment.In other words, this embodiment is characterized in that the waste inkholding portion of the ink cartridge, which is for holding the waste inkresulting when ink is suctioned through the nozzles of the ink jet headin order to keep the ink jet head reliable in ejection performance, ismade independent from the cartridge main assembly, so that it can beremovably attached to the cartridge main assembly. With the provision ofthis structural arrangement, the first waste ink retaining member inthis embodiment may be substantially smaller than that in the precedingembodiments, because the waste ink unit 42 can be replaced withoutreplacing the entirety of the ink cartridge, if the ink container inthis embodiment happens to be used in such a manner that the cumulativeamount of the waste ink resulting when ink is suctioned through thenozzles of the ink jet head to keep the ink jet reliable in terms ofejection performance is greater than the capacity of the waste ink unit42. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the running cost of an ink jetrecording apparatus.

As described above, compared to the second embodiment, this embodimentcan further reduce the size of an ink cartridge. Obviously, thisembodiment can offer the same benefits as those offered by the secondembodiment. That is, in order to use an ink cartridge to provide an inkjet recording apparatus capable of printing across the entirety of thesurface of printing medium by shuttling its ink jet head in thedirection intersectional to the printing medium conveyance direction,with a portion for catching the ink ejected from the ink jet head towardslightly outside the edges of the recording medium, and a portion forretaining the ink caught by the ink catching portion, without requiringincrease in the ink cartridge size as well as printer main assemblysize, the ink cartridge must be shaped long and narrow, because thewaste ink catching portion of the ink cartridge must extend from oneedge of the printing medium to the other. With the provision of thisstructural arrangement, the waste ink is reliably caught by the wasteink catching portion, and is evenly dispersed in the waste ink retainingportion. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ink cartridge, which issuperior in ink absorption efficiency, lighter, and smaller, compared toan ink cartridge in accordance with the prior art. Obviously, thisembodiment does not add to the cost of the absorption of the excess ink,that is, the waste ink, by the ink cartridge. Further, it does notrequire the ink jet printer main assembly to be increased in sizeaccording to the increase in the volume of the waste ink absorbingportion, which must be set according to the length of time the ink jetprinter is operated.

Embodiment 4

Next, the fourth embodiment of the present invention, which is relatedto the desirable distance between the second waste ink retaining member13 of the ink cartridge, and the surface of the ink jet head having theejection orifices, in the ink jet printer in each of the above describedembodiments of the present invention, will be described in detail.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, in the ink jet printer, the ink jet head 33is moved in a manner of scanning the printing paper (recording medium)P; it is shuttled primarily in the direction perpendicular to thedirection in which the printing paper P is conveyed. The printer mainassembly is structured so that while the printing paper P is conveyedthrough the printer main assembly, the printing paper P is alwaysbetween the ink cartridge 10 and ink jet head 33, and also, so that thefirst waste ink catching hole 21 extends from one end of the primaryscanning range, inclusive of the above described out-of-boundaryportions, of the ink jet head 33, to the other. In other words, the inkejected toward slightly outside of the edges of the printing paper P (interms of both the printing paper conveyance direction and the directionperpendicular thereto) is absorbed by the second waste ink retainingmember 13 exposed through the first ink catching hole 21.

At this time, the flight of a liquid droplet in the air will bedescribed based on theoretical computations. It is assumed that a liquiddroplet is a in radius, and is v0 in initial velocity. When the ambienceis 25° C. in temperature and 1 in atmospheric pressure, the air densityρ_(air)=1.29×10⁻³ g/cm³, and the kinetic viscosity of airν_(air)=1.50×10⁻¹ cm²/s. Further, Reynolds number R is:R=L·v/ν _(air)

-   -   L: characteristic length    -   ν_(air): kinetic viscosity    -   v: velocity.

When v=14 M/s, Reynolds number R=1-20, being sufficiently small. WhenReynolds number is sufficiently small, the inertia term in Navier-stokesequation may be ignored to obtain the approximate value (stokesapproximation) thereof. In other words, the following linear equationregarding the air flow around a liquid droplet is solved:div v=0∂v/∂t=1/ρ_(air) grad p+ν _(air) Δv.

As for the liquid droplet movement, the resistance of the air flowagainst a liquid droplet is calculated from the above equation. When aliquid droplet is a in radius, and v in velocity, the resistance F is:F=6πρ_(air) ν_(air) av.

Thus, the equation for the liquid movement is:md/dt (dx/dt)=−6πρ_(air) ν_(air) a dx/dt

(assuming that liquid mass is m, and liquid is flying in parallel to xaxis).

Prior to flight, that is, when t=0, dx/dt=v0, and x=0x=mv0/(6πρ_(air)ν_(air) a) (1−exp(−6πρ_(air)ν_(air) a/m t))dx/dt=v0 exp(−6πρ_(air)ν_(air) a/m t)

substituting the liquid droplet radius a and ink density ρ_(ink) for theliquid droplet mass, m=4/3 πa3ú ρ_(ink). Therefore,x=2 ρ_(ink) v0 a3/(9 ρ_(air)ν_(air)) (1−exp(−9 ρ_(air)ν_(air)/(2ρ_(ink)a2) t))dx/dt=v0 exp (−9ρ_(air) ν_(air)/(2 ρ_(ink) a2) t).

The initial velocity is assumed to be 14 m/s.

Assuming that a liquid droplet is spherical, changes in the position(distance from orifice) of each of liquid droplets different in volume(radius) were obtained. The relationship between the elapsed time t[s]from the moment of ejection (t0=0 [s]) and the velocity v[m/s] of aliquid droplet at the point in time of t[s] from the moment of ejectioncan be obtained from the Stokes approximation. From this relationship,the relationship between the elapsed time t[s] and the distance x[mm](at orifice, x=0) each of the ink droplets different in volume wasobtained, and is shown in FIG. 14. As the elapsed time increases, an inkdroplet reduces in velocity. when the velocity of an ink droplet is nomore than 1 m/s, it simply floats in the printer main assembly. If thefloating ink droplet adheres to the printing paper, it may degrade printquality. For example, if an ink droplet with a volume of no less than0.5 pl (pico-liter) adheres to the printing paper, the image qualitydegradation caused by the adhesion of the ink droplet is detectable bythe naked eye. Thus, in order to prevent an ink droplet with a volume ofno less than 0.5 pl from floating in the printer main assembly, the inkcartridge is positioned in the ink jet printer main assembly, as shownin FIG. 13, so that the distance between the ink jet head surface 33 ahaving the ejection orifices and the second waste ink retaining member13 becomes no more than 3.3 mm.

Embodiment 5

Next, referring to FIG. 15, the fifth embodiment of the presentinvention, which is related to the method for manufacturing the inkcartridges in the preceding embodiments, will be described in detail.FIGS. 15(a)-15(d) are partially exploded perspective views of the inkcartridge in accordance with the present invention, showing themanufacturing sequence therefor.

First, the boxy frame the ink container, having an ink pouch chamber inwhich the three ink pouches containing yellow, magenta, and cyan inks,one for one, are disposed, is prepared. More specifically, referring toFIG. 15(a), in order to prepare the above described boxy frame, first,the plurality of ink pouches 7 for storing the plurality of inks, one sfor one, are prepared, and are placed in the boxy ink container frame.Then, the bottom lid 4 of the ink container is attached to the boxy inkcontainer frame to complete the ink container. When placing the inkpouches in the boxy ink container frame, the ink outlet of each inkpouch is connected to the corresponding hole (FIGS. 3 and 7) of thejoint portion 5 of the boxy ink container frame 2 (joint between inkoutlet of ink pouch and corresponding hole is not shown). Next,referring to FIG. 5(b), the first waste ink retaining member 14 isinserted into the recess in the side portion of the boxy frame 2completed by the attachment of the bottom lid 4 to the boxy inkcontainer frame. Then, the lid 1 of the ink container is placed on theboxy frame 2, and welded thereto, as shown in FIG. 15(d). As the methodfor fixing the lid 1 to the boxy frame 2, ultrasonic welding is mostdesirable. However, the lid 1 may be fixed by an ordinary thermalwelding method, or may be glued. In the case that an ink containercomprises the second waste ink retaining member 13, the second waste inkretaining member 13 is placed on the top surface of the boxy frame 2,next to the first waste ink retaining member 14, preferably, in contactwith the first waste ink retaining member 14, as shown in FIG. 15(c). Asfor the filling of the ink pouches with ink, ink has only to be injectedinto each ink pouch after the plurality of ink pouches are connected tothe corresponding holes of the joint portion 5. Although in thepreceding embodiments, the ink pouches are placed in the ink pouchchamber 3 of the ink container, and thereafter, inks are stored in theink pouches, this manufacturing arrangement is not intended to limit thescope of the present invention. Incidentally, the manufacturing sequenceshown in FIG. 15 may be altered; it may be as follows. That is, first,the boxy frame 2 is fitted with the second waste ink retaining member 13and first waste ink retaining member 14. Then, the combination of theplurality of ink pouches and the joint portion 5, to the holes of whichthe outlets of the ink pouches have been connected, is placed in theboxy frame 2. Lastly, the bottom lid 4 is welded to the boxy frame 2. Inthe case of this manufacturing method, inks may be injected into the inkpouches immediately after the outlets of the ink pouches are connectedto the holes of the joint portion 5. It does not matter which of the twomanufacturing sequences is employed. However, the sequence shown in FIG.15 is preferable, because the first and second waste ink retainingmembers are placed in the boxy frame 2 at the last, and therefore,should ink leak from any of the ink pouches and soil the waste inkretaining members during the manufacturing of an ink container, thewaste ink retaining members can be easily replaced, as long as theleakage occurs before the manufacturing step shown in FIG. 15(d).Although in the case of the sequence, shown in FIG. 15, formanufacturing the ink cartridge in accordance with the presentinvention, the top and bottom lids of the container are ultrasonicallywelded to the boxy frame portion of the ink cartridge, they may beattached with the use of easily reversible means such as screws or thelike, as shown in FIG. 16.

Incidentally, the preceding embodiments of the present invention havebeen described with reference to the waste ink retaining members (inkabsorbent member) as waste ink catching and absorbing members. As forthe material for the ink absorbing members, any substance may beemployed as long as it can absorb and retain ink. For example, foamedurethane, a dense tangle of fibers, etc., are preferable substances.Further, the waste ink catching and retaining portion does not need tocontain the ink absorbing member(s); in other words, it may be empty, aslong as it is capable of catching and retaining waste ink. However, inconsideration of the fact that an ink container is periodicallyreplaced, not only is the waste ink catching portion desired to becapable of catching ink, but also retaining it. Thus, instead of fillingthe waste ink catching portion with an ink absorbing member, theinternal surfaces of the ink catching portion may be provided with aplurality of fine grooves so that the waste ink caught by the inkcatching portion will be etained in the grooves by the capillary forceof the grooves.

While the invention has been described with reference to the structuresdisclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth, and thisapplication is intended to cover such modifications or changes as maycome within the purposes of the improvements or the scope of thefollowing claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABIRITY

As described above, according to the present invention, there isprovided an ink cartridge capable of contributing to the size reductionof an ink jet recording apparatus capable of borderless printing.

1. An ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to a liquid ejectiontype recording device including a liquid ejecting head for ejectingliquid onto a recording material while scanning the recording materialin a direction crossing with a feeding direction of the recordingmaterial, and a recoverying unit for sucking the liquid through a nozzleof the liquid ejecting head, said ink cartridge comprising: a receivingportion for receiving the liquid discharged from the liquid ejectinghead by the recoverying unit; a liquid containing portion foraccommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head; anda connecting portion for connecting said receiving portion and saidsuction recoverying means, wherein the connecting portion is disposed ata position upstream of a front end surface portion of said ink cartridgewith respect to an inserting direction in which said ink cartridge isinserted into the liquid ejection type recording device.
 2. An inkcartridge according to claim 1, further comprising an engaging portion,provided at a position downstream of said connecting portion withrespect to the direction, for engagement with the liquid ejection typerecording device.
 3. An ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to aliquid ejection type recording device including a liquid ejecting headfor ejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning therecording material in a direction crossing with a feeding direction ofthe recording material, a recoverying unit for sucking the liquidthrough a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head, said ink cartridge furthercomprising: a liquid containing portion for accommodating the liquid tobe supplied to the liquid ejecting head; a first receiving portion forreceiving the liquid discharged out of the liquid ejecting head by therecoverying unit; and a second receiving portion for receiving theliquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head to an outside of therecording material; and a connecting portion for connecting said firstreceiving portion and the recoverying unit with each other, wherein saidengaging portion is disposed at a position downstream of said connectingportion with respect to an inserting direction in which said inkcartridge is inserted into the liquid ejection type recording device. 4.An ink cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said second receivingportion is in fluid communication with a first opening formed in a sideopposite a scanning region of the liquid ejecting head, and wherein saidconnecting portion is in the form of a second opening formed in a sidedifferent from the side having said first opening.
 5. An ink cartridgeaccording to claim 3, wherein said first receiving portion and saidsecond receiving portion are integral with each other to constitute anink holding member.
 6. An ink cartridge according to claim 3, whereinsaid first receiving portion and said second receiving portionconstitute two ink holding members which are contacted to each other. 7.An ink cartridge according to claim 6, wherein a holding member of saidsecond receiving portion has a capillary force which is higher than acapillary force of a holding member of said first receiving portion. 8.An ink cartridge according to claim 3, wherein said connecting portionis disposed adjacent a center portion of a region where said secondreceiving portion is disposed.
 9. An ink cartridge according to claim 3,wherein a cap member constituting said second receiving portion ismounted to said casing in an easy-disassembling fashion.
 10. An inkcartridge according to claim 3, wherein said liquid containing portioncontains the liquid.
 11. An ink cartridge which is detachably mountableto a liquid ejection type recording device including a liquid ejectinghead for ejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning therecording material in a direction crossing with a feeding direction ofthe recording material, and liquid supplying means for supplying liquidto the liquid ejecting head, said ink cartridge further comprising: anabsorbing material for absorbing the liquid ejected to an outside of therecording material from the liquid ejecting head; a cap member providedon a side opposite a scanning region of the liquid ejecting head andextended in a direction parallel with the scanning direction of theliquid ejecting head, said cap member having an opening for exposingsaid absorbing material, wherein said cap member having said opening,including, a first opening region, provided substantially at a centerportion thereof, for receiving the liquid from portions at front, rear,both lateral sides in the feeding direction of the recording material;and second opening region and third opening region, provided at endportions so as to interpose said first opening region therebetween, forreceiving the liquid from portions at opposite end portions of therecording material, said second opening region and said third openingregion having opening areas different from each other.
 12. A liquidejection type recording device comprising: a feeding unit for feedingthe recording material; a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid ontoa recording material while scanning the recording material in adirection crossing with a feeding direction of the recording material arecoverying unit for suction discharge of the liquid through a nozzle ofthe liquid ejecting head; an ink cartridge for accommodating the liquidto be supplied to the liquid ejecting head, wherein said ink cartridgecomprising: a receiving portion for receiving the liquid discharged fromsaid recoverying unit; a liquid containing portion for accommodating theliquid to be supplied to said liquid ejecting head; a connecting portionfor connecting said and said recoverying unit with each other, saidconnecting portion is disposed at a position upstream of a front endsurface portion of said ink cartridge with respect to an insertingdirection in which said ink cartridge is inserted into the liquidejection type recording device; a tube member for discharging the inkfrom recoverying unit to said receiving portion, wherein said tubemember is connected with said connecting portion when said ink cartridgeis mounted to said liquid ejection type recording device.
 13. Anapparatus according to claim 12, wherein said ink cartridge furtherincludes a second receiving portion provided in a side facing a scanningregion of said liquid ejecting head, and wherein a distance between thesecond receiving portion and a surface in which ejection outlets of saidliquid ejection recording head are formed.
 14. A manufacturing methodfor manufacturing an ink cartridge which is detachably mountable to aliquid ejection type recording device including a liquid ejecting headfor ejecting liquid onto a recording material while scanning therecording material in a direction crossing with a feeding direction ofthe recording material, a recoverying unit for sucking the liquidthrough a nozzle of the liquid ejecting head and a liquid containingportion for accommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquidejecting head, said ink method comprising: a step of preparing an inkcartridge casing which at least partly constitutes the liquid containingportion and which has a recess having an opening in an upper surfaceadjacent a side surface of the accommodating portion; a step ofinserting a second absorbing material into the recess with said opening;a step of placing a first absorbing material on an upper surface of inkcartridge so as to be contacted with said second absorbing material,after said second absorbing material insertion step; a step of formingan ink cartridge of mounting a top cap having an opening on the inkcartridge casing in which said first absorbing material is placed, sothat first opening in fluid communication with said first absorbingmaterial is formed in a surface opposite a scanning region of the liquidejecting head, and a second opening in fluid communication with saidsecond absorbing material is formed in a surface different for thesurface having the first opening, wherein a portion in which said secondopening is formed is disposed at a position upstream of a front endsurface portion of said ink cartridge with respect to an insertingdirection in which said ink cartridge is inserted into the liquidejection type recording device.
 15. A method according to claim 14,further comprising a step of filling liquid into the liquid containingportion.
 16. A manufacturing method for manufacturing an ink cartridgewhich is detachably mountable to a liquid ejection type recording deviceincluding a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid onto a recordingmaterial while scanning the recording material in a direction crossingwith a feeding direction of the recording material, and a recoveryingmeans for sucking the liquid through a nozzle of the liquid ejectinghead, said ink method comprising: a step of preparing a receivingportion for receiving the liquid discharged from the liquid ejectinghead by the recoverying unit; a liquid containing portion foraccommodating the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head; aliquid supply opening for permitting discharge of the liquid from theliquid containing portion to an outside; and a connecting portion forconnecting said receiving portion and said suction recoverying means,wherein the connecting portion is disposed at a position upstream of afront end surface portion of said ink cartridge with respect to aninserting direction in which said ink cartridge is inserted into theliquid ejection type recording device; and a step of injecting throughsaid liquid supply opening the liquid to be ejected from said liquidejecting head.